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Boundary Waters Quetico Forum Quetico Forum Mystery on This Man |
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09/22/2014 07:22PM
So I did the Man Chain this summer, and I came across these old boards nailed up in a tree on the south shore of This Man (at least I am pretty sure it was This Man). Looked for all the world like steps to a deer stand. They were quite a way up in the tree; 12 - 15' maybe. Didn't look like a campsite.
Anyone see them? Any idea what they are?
Anyone see them? Any idea what they are?
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09/22/2014 08:21PM
No campsite nearby, and this didn't look like an old campsite, but who knows. I thought of some sort of fire lookout, but the tree was near the shoreline and there was a ridge behind it, so if a view was all you were after, you would have avoided the trouble of carrying boards, hammers, and nails and just climbed the hill. I didn't stop; kind of wish I had now to see if I could find any more clues.
09/24/2014 05:57PM
I would bet deer stand 40yrs ago we could put permanent stands on state land, and they were all nailed to the trees. For the most part they were never removed, they just rotted away and fell. Those look like the steps we used.
10/17/2014 09:38PM
That is a mystery that may haunt you for a while. Several years ago we found a very small and discreet monument in an interior Quetico lake. I had stayed at this campsite any number of times and had never seen it until one of my companions discovered it. It is a very small metal name plate nailed to a tree. It has likely been there for about 50 years based on the inscription and the fact that it is now splitting in half as the tree has grown.
I have tried to find the family of the man that it involves and it bothers me that I have not been able to. I hope to retire in 2015 and one of my retirement goals is to find the family and learn more about who this man was.
It is unfinished business.
I have tried to find the family of the man that it involves and it bothers me that I have not been able to. I hope to retire in 2015 and one of my retirement goals is to find the family and learn more about who this man was.
It is unfinished business.
10/18/2014 10:07AM
quote PINETREE: "They did some test drilling for mining decades ago on the Man chain,maybe something leftover?"
That's what I was thinking.
Although it's been several years since I traveled through the "Man Chain", but I remember seeing a broken down cabin on This Man Lake.
Supposedly the cabin was a storehouse and was constructed for the mining exploration crew during the 1920's. There were hundreds of core samples littering the ground in and around the decaying structure. As PINETREE mentioned, the "mystery" could be related to the mining company's presence there.
Hans Solo
Water reflects not only clouds and trees and cliffs, but all the infinite variations of mind and spirit we bring to it. – Sigurd Olson
12/22/2014 12:07PM
What Hans Solo said. It's on the West end adjacent to the portage - old mining base. Core samples, wood stove and bed springs are still there...they accessed it by float plane.
Back in the 70's some friends of mine availed themselves to the 55 gallon barrel that was there - they would fish in the spring, and just left a lot of their gear right there for the next season in the barrel...including a one gallon glass bottle (the kind that table wine used to come in) this was their cold water jug. They'd tie a line to it and sink it in 50' deep water - when they'd get back from fishing their had all the cold water they wanted.
Back in the 70's some friends of mine availed themselves to the 55 gallon barrel that was there - they would fish in the spring, and just left a lot of their gear right there for the next season in the barrel...including a one gallon glass bottle (the kind that table wine used to come in) this was their cold water jug. They'd tie a line to it and sink it in 50' deep water - when they'd get back from fishing their had all the cold water they wanted.
"You're not serious about wearing sandals on this portage.... are you?"
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